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Gwendoline Lacey
hi this website is dumb Gwendoline Mary Lacey, nicknamed Dear Gwendoline Mary, is one of the minor antagonists of the series. She came to Malory Towers in the same time as Darrell. Gwen is vain and shallow, attaching herself to any new girl she thinks is glamorous or rich. She has to leave the sixth form early when her father falls seriously ill. She first appears in the book First Term at Malory Towers Appearance She is described as having a sheet of long, blonde hair which she likes to wear loose around her shoulders, and big, pale blue eyes. She is mentioned to be rather overweight and spotty, although she is mentioned to be less overweight in the fifth form, after having extra sports that came from her pretendence about her weak heart the previous term. Personality Gwendoline is often described as selfish, lazy, conceited, hypocritical, spiteful, petty and spoilt. She is deceitful, determined, and she is not academically gifted but very clever when she badly wants her own way. She clings to new girls such as Clarissa and Zerelda, especially if she thinks they are rich or glamorous. She is portrayed as bringing all her misfortune upon herself, although she does have a point when she later tells Alicia, "You don't need to be rude as soon as you see me," after Alicia makes a biting comment when Gwendoline is barely through the door. Gwen might not have grown up to be the person she was if it weren't for her mother and governess, who constantly spoiled her and gave her own way. Gwendoline is very selfish and conceited and only really cares about herself. She pushed her father to the point that he became ill from exhaustion so that she could go to finishing school, and in the fourth form she deceived her parents, by saying that she was ill from having a weak heart, this shows that despite her selfishness she was very determined, scrupulous and clever when she badly wanted her own way. When her father became ill, she changed herself drastically and she stopped being selfish and looking only out for herself. Abilities Gwendoline is very bad at sport, and lazy at her lessons but she is determined to get her own way. In Goodbye Malory Towers by Pamela Cox, she becomes a sixth form finishing school teacher, because she had been to finishing school. Gwen does not have many abilities, but probably could if she tried harder. She is an example of a fixed mindset. However, Gwen can be very clever and determined when she desperately wants something. For example, in her fourth form, Gwen decided to get out of the School Cert. exam by pretending she has a weak heart. She planned it all and when Clarissa didn't say anything to her mother about it, Gwen didn't give up, she found Mam'zelle Dupont and continued with her plan. True, it was a cruel one that caused her parents a lot of stress and worry. History Gwendoline is the only child of Mr and Mrs Lacey. She was home-schooled for the first twelve years of her life by her doting governess, Miss Winter. First Term at Malory Towers Gwendoline is first seen by Alicia and Darrell, having a tearful goodbye with her mother and governess. She has never been to school before in her life. On the first night, Gwendoline insists on brushing her hair 100 times, but stops when Alicia threatens to throw away her brush. Miss Potts sends Gwendoline out of the room to plait her hair, but she doesn't know how, so Darrell does it for her. When the first formers are in the swimming pool, Gwendoline ducks Mary-Lou, but Darrell catches her and shakes her roughly, getting sent out of the pool. Darrell apologises, but Gwen refuses to accept the apology. She is later forced by the first form to apologise to Mary-Lou. Darrell continues to scold Mary-Lou, so Gwendoline convinces Mary-Lou to be her friend. At the same time, she begins to play tricks on Mary-Lou, and tries to blame Darrell and Alicia, but no-one believes it. At half-term. Gwendoline tells her mother and Miss Winter that she is the best at everything in her class, and Mary-Lou is shocked. After Mary-Lou saves Darrell, Gwendoline is jealous of all the attention she receives and is made angry by the fact that Mary-Lou stops being her friend. This causes Gwendoline to smash Mary-Lou's fountain pen and blame Darrell, but Mary-Lou discovers the truth. Second Form at Malory Towers Gwendoline brings Daphne Turner to Malory Towers, accompanying her on the train. It soon becomes clear that Gwen is friends with Daphne because she is pretty and wealthy. She drops hints to be invited over in the holidays but Daphne doesn't pick up. Daphne and Mary-Lou grow closer as Mary-Lou helps Daphne with her French prep, making Gwen jealous. Gwen continually has to lend money to Daphne. Gwen finds her purse gone missing after half-term. Daphne offers to lend her money, but finds it gone. When Daphne has an urgent parcel to send out, Gwen is jealous when Mary-Lou goes to take the parcel to the post-office. Daphne discovers Mary-Lou's plight and rushes out afterwards. Gwen tells the teachers what has happened. It comes out that Daphne was the thief taking the purses and jewellery, and the parcel was her way of getting rid of them. Gwen is reluctant to support Daphne afterwards, but gives her word after Sally Hope threatens to tell Miss Grayling. Daphne and Mary-Lou become best friends and Gwen is pushed out Third Year at Malory Towers Gwen takes a shine to new girl Zerelda Brass, who is grown-up, glamorous and American. She also has an admiration for Mavis Allyson, who dreams of being an opera-singer. Gwen is pleased when Zerelda comes down to the third form, and decides to be her friend. Belinda Morris begins stalking Gwen to draw pictures of her scowls. Gwen listens to Zerelda acting, but has no idea if she is good or not. Upper Fourth at Malory Towers Gwen is described as being overweight and spotty in this book. When Gwen notices a new girl being referred to as "The Honourable", she makes up her mind to be her friend. Clarissa Carter arrives, and Gwen takes her under her wing, to everyone's disgust. Gwen copies Clarissa's prep, and moans when they have to go to the swimming pool. Clarissa doesn't swim because she has a weak heart, and Gwen wishes that she has one too, to Darrell's shock. Clarissa accidentally shoves Gwen into the pool, to the amusement of the other fourth formers. Gwen changes beds with Mary-Lou in the dormitory so she can be next to Clarissa. Darrell decides that Clarissa is spending too much time with Gwen, so she enlists Mavis to lure Clarissa away. Gwendoline tells Clarissa about Mavis' humiliation last year where she lost her voice, so that Clarissa won't want to be around her. Daphne tries next, but Clarissa is duly informed of her history of thievery by Gwen to put her off. Gwen also delights in telling her about when Darrell scolded her in the swimming pool, Bill Robinson's disobedience and Ellen Wilson's cheating. When the fourth plan to go on a picnic to Langley Hill, Gwen suggests that Clarissa ask her old nanny if they can come to tea with her. This is when Gwen first mentions her weak heart. The remaining food is brought back to school by Gwen and Clarissa for the fourth form to have a midnight feast by the pool. The feast goes disastrously wrong and Darrell is forced to resign as head girl. Gwen offers her sympathies, but immediately afterwards she tells Clarissa she is glad of Darrell's humiliation, making Clarissa desert her. Gwen begins to panic about the coming School Cert. exam, as she realises she has no chance of passing and she would face humiliation if she failed. This is when she begins to cook up a plan to get out of the exam by foxing a weak heart. Her mother takes her home immediately at half term when she learns of Gwen's condition, and doctors perform tests. They find nothing wrong, but Gwen convinces her mother to let her stay home another week. Gwen's father rushes home, anxious because of his wife's letters and telephone calls about Gwen. Mr Lacey reads the letter that the specialist wrote and sends her back to school immediately, very angry. She arrives back just in time for the exam and fails it. On top of that, she has to do more games, walks and swimming to take off some weight. In the Fifth at Malory Towers Gwen returns late, having lost some weight and spots. The fifth formers have been talking her up to Maureen Little, in order to push them together so that they don't have to put up with her. The fifth form's pantomime, Cinderella, is announced and both Gwen and Maureen dream of playing Cinderella. They both pose as her in the dormitory, Gwen with a towel wrapped round her. Mrs Lacey and Miss Winter write back and insist that Gwen would have the lead part. When the casting is revealed, Gwen hopes for a lead, but leaves the room before the Ugly Sisters are announced, because she does not want to be one. Maureen invites herself out with Gwen at half-term and Mrs Lacey and Miss Winter take a shine to her, ending in Maureen being invited over during the Christmas period. Gwen is cast as a servant in the pantomime, with nothing to do or say. During the servants' song, Moira Linton picks on Gwen and Maureen to sing the song alone, and scornfully tells them that they are the worst in the whole play, making Gwen angry. When Moira receives anonymous notes, Gwen is suspected by Moira, Sally and Darrell. She is, however innocent as June Johns is unmasked as the real culprit. Last Term at Malory Towers Gwen returns for her final term after saying a hard goodbye to her father. The girls are surprised as her farewells to her family are tearful usually. They soon discover the reason: The Lacey family had a huge fight in the holidays about Gwen's future. Gwen wastes no time in telling the girls what happened. Mrs Lacey decided to send Gwen to a finishing school in Switzerland, where all the really rich people send their daughters. Mr Lacey, however, told them that it was too expensive and nonsense. He thought that Gwen should get a job instead. However, after long hours of Mrs Lacey and Gwen rowing with Mr Lacey, he gave in from exhaustion. Gwen describes her holidays to Darrell, Sally and Alicia, but they walk away in disgust, as does Mary-Lou. Miss Grayling enlists Darrell to try and talk to Gwen to make her see sense and apologise to her father; Darrell fails dismally. Gwen continues to spend her time describing her new school and her fight to get there, much to the disgust and boredom of the other sixth formers. Maureen encourages Gwen, but only because she wants the others to snap at Gwen. Mr Lacey does not come to visit at half-term, and Gwen is pleased, but Miss Winter pleads his case. Near the end of the term, Gwen receives a visit from Miss Winter, telling her that her father is ill and may not live. Gwen is horrified, given her behaviour to her father and rushes to him. She meets Darrell on the way to pack her night case, and Darrell promises to send her trunk on. Later, Gwen sends Darrell a letter. Her father was saved, but he was going to be an invalid for the rest of his life. Gwen has to take a job, but she is being strong about it. She reflects that she will never be as strong and brave as Darrell, Sally, Bill and Clarissa, but she marks a change in herself, where she is not as weak as she was. She also begs Darrell to write to her. Darrell obliges, and so does Sally and Mary-Lou, and Bill and Clarissa sent photographs of the stables where they would set up their riding school. Outside Malory Towers Gwen does not go to her finishing school in Switzerland, but her uncle stepped in and paid for her to take a course at a finishing school in England. Afterwards, she took a job as a companion to an elderly lady, Mrs Carruthers, who was a family friend. Gwen was treated generally with contempt and when a vase went missing, she was dismissed on the spot for stealing, with no reference or wages owed. Later it came out that a maid had smashed the vase and hidden the pieces, but Gwen did not get her job back. Goodbye, Malory Towers Gwen returns to the school to take finishing school classes with the sixth form, and is referred to as Miss Lacey. She first runs into Felicity Rivers, who is now head girl, but puts on an act. Miss Lacey hears Amy Ryder-Cochrane sneering at her, and so holds a grudge against her for it. Miss Lacey strikes up a friendship with Miss Nicholson, a new Geography mistress, who is about the same age as her. She bumps into Amy in the corridor and drops some things, but Amy's attempts to be polite are not received warmly and she is punished. Miss Lacey has a letter gone missing from home, which describes the incident about Mrs Carruthers, and she suspects Amy of picking it up when it was dropped in the corridor. Amy protests her innocence. Amy is made by Miss Lacey to do a flower arrangement again after fluffing the first time, and Amy invites a first former, Violet Forsyth to help her. One of the maids, Daisy, catches them and threatens to report them as only sixth formers are allowed in Miss Lacey's classroom. However, Amy talks her round. Miss Lacey receives a letter from Darrell, and is thrilled and decides to write back that evening, However, for the first lesson of the day, she opens up her classroom to find that someone has ruined the flower arrangement and thrown the flowers on the floor, the water on the desk, ruining some papers and the vase has been smashed against the wall. The West Tower girls, who she is teaching, clear up the room. Amy is questioned, as she was one of the last people to have the key, but she once again protests her innocence. Amy bribes Daisy with expensive perfume not to tell Miss Potts about Violet. Miss Lacey next finds her bedroom has been ransacked, and a pair of cufflinks that she bought for her father have been stolen. She confides in Miss Nicholson, who offers to lend her the money, but she declines. After half-term, Miss Nicholson has a toothache, so Miss Lacey volunteers to supervise the first formers' lesson whilst she goes to the dentist. Violet dislikes Miss Lacey because Amy dislikes her, and Violet worships Amy, so Violet deliberately spills ink all over Miss Lacey during the lesson, causing her to have to leave the room and change. The first formers realise instantly Violet's motives. Miss Lacey runs into Daisy, who takes her clothes to be washed. When the first-formers decide to have a midnight feast, Violet steals the keys to Miss Lacey's classroom from the teacher's desk and the feasters use her classroom. Lizzie Mannering is determined to spoil the feast due to an ongoing argument with her younger sister Edith Mannering, and so the first form feed her false information by telling her the feast is by the pool. Whilst down by the pool, Edith intends to lock Lizzie in a nearby shed, but someone dressed as Miss Lacey beats her to it. That someone then proceeded to lead Miss Potts to the feast. Edith informs Miss Potts that Lizzie is locked in the shed, but she is not there when they go to look, as Felicity and June Johnson found and released her. Miss Lacey is accused the next morning by Miss Grayling, but she protests her innocence and the clothes she was described as wearing were the ones she gave to Daisy to wash, along with a hat that was stolen from her bedroom when it was ransacked. Miss Nicholson then enters and fakes an alibi for Miss Lacey to get her out of trouble. The two women rack their brains to think who masqueraded as Miss Lacey, and they suggest Amy, and watch her closely. They see Daisy and ask about Miss Lacey's skirt and blouse, and Daisy tells her she left them in her study, as the bedroom was locked. Miss Lacey joins the old girls reunion, along with most of the old crowd - Darrell, Sally, Alicia, Daphne, Mary-Lou, Bill, Clarissa, Irene and Belinda. The old girls are surprised when Miss Lacey refers to Miss Nicholson as her best friend, and marvel at the change in her. They decide to invite Miss Nicholson along with them for the reunion. Mavis arrives late and fakes a grand entrance, to fool them. The old girls are excited to see Gwen's classroom, and Gwen is unsure if she is returning next term, as this term was an experiment. Miss Nicholson almost tells them all about Gwen's troubles, but Gwen stops her. Alicia reminds Gwen of how horrible she was to Daisy in the fifth and sixth form, ordering her around. Gwen is ashamed of her own behaviour. When the old girls go to see Gwen's classroom, they find a message written on the blackboard "HALLO, OLD GIRLS. I'M SURE THAT MISS LACEY DOESN'T WANT TO SPOIL YOUR REUNION BY TELLING YOU WHY SHE WAS DISMISSED FROM HER LAST POSITION, SO I WILL. MISS LACEY IS A COMMON THIEF." Gwen breaks down over this and confesses to the old girls and Miss Nicholson the story of Mrs Carruthers and also the tricks that have been played on her during her time as a teacher. She also shares hers and Miss Nicholson's suspicions about Amy. However, Alicia thinks that perhaps someone else is responsible. Together, the girls deduce that Daisy the maid is the real culprit and catch her in the act of stealing jewellery from Mavis. She confesses that she was going to frame Miss Lacey and also to all of the previous crimes. Miss Grayling dismisses Daisy and tells Gwen that she can stay on next term to teach the new sixth formers. Family and Friends Mr Lacey Mr Lacey is Gwen's no-nonsense father. He reminds Gwen of Miss Potts sometimes. When Gwen fakes a weak heart, Mr Lacey is angry, and scolds Gwen roundly. He is then sad as Gwen lets him down continually and he can't be proud of her the way other fathers at Malory Towers can. In Book 6, Mr Lacey has a huge fight with Gwen over her going to finishing school in Switzerland. Mr Lacey gives in from exhaustion, but the row makes him ill and at one point it looks as if he won't pull through, but he recovers and becomes an invalid for the rest of his life. Gwen buys him a pair of cufflinks for his birthday, but they are stolen. Eventually, Gwen gets them back. Mrs Lacey Gwen's mother has always spoiled her terribly and undoes any good Malory Towers does for her. She is silly and fussy and never truly adjusted to a new, poorer life after Gwen had to take a job. Miss Winter This was Gwendoline's governess before she came to Malory Towers. She visits Gwen at half term with Mrs Lacey, and looks after Gwen in the holidays. Gwen has been known to refer to Miss Winter as stupid multiple times, but the governess became "a tower of strength" for the family after Mr Lacey's illness Darrell Rivers Gwendoline seems to be jealous towards Darrell because of her high spirits and popularity among the girls- mostly Sally Hope. This started when Gwen cruelly ducked Mary-Lou in the pool, and was shook by Darrell who lost her temper for the first time. However, Darrell calms down, admits that she was in the wrong, and apologizes to Gwendoline. The girls now welcomed Darrell in warmth, but not to Gwendoline, as she did not accept Darrell's apology with grace and did not apologize to Mary-Lou either. This made Gwen more jealous of Darrell and wanted to seek revenge. She then decided to play horrible tricks to Mary-Lou and make it seem like it was Darrell doing them. This did not work when Gwen was discovered smashing Mary-Lou's favorite pen In the last book, when her father became ill, and she had to leave the school, Darrell came to her to cheer her up. Later, she wrote Darrell a letter, saying thanks and telling her how she was doing. Alicia Johns Gwen is a victim of Alicia's sharp tongue. Alicia also likes to push Gwen in to the pool. Mary-Lou Gwen pretended to be friends with Mary-Lou in the first form, but played mean tricks on her to frame Alicia and Darrell. Darrell was accused by Alicia so Darrell refused to stay with Alicia and moved to Sally, her best friend. Daphne Millicent Turner Gwen, like everyone else, got the impression that Daphne was rich, but she only liked Daphne because of her seemingly wealthy family Zerelda Brass Gwen liked Zerelda in the third and fourth form, because she was a wealthy glamorous American girl. Gwen has a great desire to be friends with rich people. Mavis In the third form, Gwen liked Mavis because of her singing talent. Maureen Little Maureen loves Gwen, but Gwen despises Maureen because she can see how horrible she is and how alike they are. Moira Linton One of Gwen's arch-enemies through the fifth form because Gwen wants to be Cinderella in the pantomime, and Moria told the whole class that she found Gwen pretending to be Cinderella.Category:Characters Category:Malory Towers Student Category:Female Category:North Tower